Hansard

I thank Gil Paterson for raising the important issue of cot death and for bringing the debate to the Parliament. I welcome the many speeches that we have heard, some of them very good, and I single out David Stewart’s speech. It is difficult to share personal experiences in the Parliament, but he managed to do that in a speech that was moving as well as positive. He talked about some of the good, positive developments that there have been.

On behalf of the Scottish Government, it is my pleasure to congratulate the Scottish Cot Death Trust on its landmark silver anniversary and to acknowledge with sincere thanks and appreciation the sterling work that its trustees and past and present staff have done over the past 25 years in supporting families who have lost babies or young children to sudden unexplained death in infancy, or cot death, as it is more widely known. Any bereavement is traumatic, but the devastating impact on a family of the sudden and unexpected death of a baby or child is heartbreaking. That is why the support that the trust offers is appreciated so much and is so necessary.

Despite the extensive research, we still do not fully understand why cot death occurs, so we cannot totally prevent it. However, we can reduce the risk of cot death tragedies happening. As several members have said, the number of cot deaths has reduced in recent years but, sadly, we still lose too many babies. Until 1991, around 90 babies a year died in Scotland; the number has gradually decreased to around 30 babies a year. Behind each of those sad statistics is a whole family devastated. Of course, much of the credit for the reduction can be directly attributed to the efforts of the trust, working with dedicated national health service staff. It is widely thought that the reduction is due to the advice that is given to parents to place babies on their backs to sleep. Several members have mentioned that.

Research and education are key to the trust’s work. Since 1985, around £3 million has been invested in studies throughout Scotland and internationally to try to identify the cause of cot death. The trust has used the findings from that research to educate parents, health professionals, the police and many more people on all aspects of cot death and how to reduce the risk of it happening, and to increase awareness of how to deal with families that face devastation.

Supporting families has been and still is a fundamental aspect of the trust’s work, and it continues to develop the range of services that it offers, such as the six plus one initiative, which is designed to build networks of trust among parents who have easy access to hard-to-reach groups. More recently, it has introduced home support visits, a befriending service and breathing monitors, and it has recruited nine professional counsellors throughout Scotland in the past year. Among other things, it is planning to introduce a new website with more current information and an online forum for bereaved families and parents, and an information roadshow to go across Scotland.

The Scottish Government is working with the trust on the revision of its leaflet entitled “Reduce the Risk of Cot Death: An Easy Guide”. The Scottish Government has convened an expert group that comprises clinicians, health managers, representatives from the United Nations Children’s Fund, the baby-friendly initiative, the trust, of course, and Scottish Government officials to update and redesign the leaflet to maximise its effectiveness in highlighting and conveying crucial information on how to reduce the risk of cot death in a clear and simple way. Perhaps some of the reflections in tonight’s debate will help to inform that process. The leaflet is currently being pre-tested with parents to ensure that the messages that it contains are easy to understand. It will be issued to every new mother in Scotland following the delivery of her baby. It is vital that anyone who cares for a baby is properly informed of current preventive measures to take.

In addition to publishing the new leaflet for the trust, the Scottish Government plans to publish a variety of posters that will highlight pertinent messages from the leaflet for distribution to various locations throughout Scotland, such as GP surgeries, hospitals and community clinics. That will further enhance awareness and therefore help to ensure that anyone who cares for a baby is properly informed of the measures that they can take to reduce the incidence of cot death.

We continue to support the important work of the trust through the provision of grant funding. The trust will receive £7,000 per year for the next three years to help it to go forward and continue to provide its services.

As well as working with the trust, we are working in partnership with NHS Quality Improvement Scotland, expert clinicians, NHS board managers, local authority social work departments and child protection teams, the police, various charities and the procurator fiscal’s office to take forward the development of a toolkit for professionals that advises on sensitive and appropriate practice and support to the bereaved family in the event of a sudden unexplained death. It came through tonight that such practice does not always happen, which can be very painful in addition to the pain and shock that the family are already experiencing. That is an important piece of work.

We are also working to restart the process of case reviews following a cot death and on the collection and evaluation of national data with a view to further reducing risk. We know that the risk of cot death is higher in cases where babies are born pre-term, with low birth weight or in families where there is socioeconomic deprivation or where there are complex needs. The refreshed framework for maternity services, which we hope to publish in January of next year, places a focus on addressing inequalities in access, experience and outcomes. The Scottish Government’s maternity services action group is developing guidance to support NHS boards to improve the identification and management of those mothers and babies in areas of high deprivation who are most at risk of poorer health outcomes.

I wish the Scottish Cot Death Trust continued success in the future in identifying the causes of cot death, educating the public and professionals and, importantly, supporting families who are unfortunate enough to lose a child to cot death. I applaud the work undertaken by the Scottish Cot Death Trust. Continuing to reduce the number of cot deaths in Scotland is something to which we collectively aspire and the Scottish Government will continue to provide its support where and when it can.

Meeting closed at 17:41.